Text messaging (aka SMS) might be the perfect way to communicate with employees in 2024.
Compared to other, less beloved communication methods, such as email, SMS has two things going for it: reach and immediacy. Nearly everyone has a smartphone and nearly everyone texts. The average person looks at their phone within three minutes of receiving a text alert.
But what should you text about? Some topics are a better fit for employee SMS campaigns than others.
For example, people prefer short text messages. Any message requiring more than 160 characters (the technical limit for a standard SMS) might work better as an email or video. Otherwise, you risk overwhelming your employees and motivating them to unsubscribe from your messages — as is their regulatory right.
To help you get a sense of what works with SMS and what doesn’t, here are 10 topics ideally suited for employee text messaging campaigns:
Related: Why HR Brokers Should Have a Mass Texting Tool on Speed Dial. Read it here →
1. Urgent/Emergency Messages
Because of its universal reach and near-instantaneous open rate, urgent alerts are among the best use cases for workforce texting.
For example, you can use texting to let your employees know the office will be closed due to inclement weather. Or if there is a public safety hazard in the area, you can tell them via text to stay where they are until the threat clears.
Note that federal regulations allow mass texting for emergency purposes without prior consent.
(You can also send texts for less serious but timely communication: “Parking Lot A is being resurfaced tomorrow morning. Please park in Lot B.”)
2. Deadline Reminders
Need to remind your employees of an impending deadline and spur them to take action? A quick text message should do the trick. Try it near open enrollment. You can also include a link to your open enrollment portal or benefits guide with your text.
3. Policy Reminders
Text messages are also great for gently reminding employees of company policies or initiatives. A well-timed text can nip a bad habit in the bud. For example, “Hey everyone, just a reminder that the blue bins are for paper recycling only.”
4. Content Promotion
As mentioned above, a text message is not the place to get wordy. But you can use a text to promote a more in-depth piece of content. Among other things, you can use (brief) SMS messages to promote your monthly benefits newsletter, tease your latest video explainer, or drive registration for an upcoming webinar.
Just keep in mind that, although people generally tolerate text messages more than email, too many promotional texts can get annoying. Use them judiciously.
5. Onboarding Notifications
Text messaging is an excellent way to keep in touch with incoming employees. You can use SMS to remind new hires of their start dates and help them get a jump start on pre-employment administrative tasks, such as filling out forms and choosing benefits. If your company offers an onboarding portal, you can share a link via text:
“Hi John, can’t wait for you to join our team next Thursday. Check out your personalized onboarding portal here.”
You can also use SMS to check in with new employees after the first few days on the job: “Hi John, how did your first week go? Any questions? Reply to let me know.”
6. Praise and Encouragement
A little bit of public appreciation can work wonders for boosting morale and employee engagement — and it doesn’t get more public than a mass text. The next time an employee or team does something exceptional, ask the CEO or another high-ranking individual to sign off on a message of praise:
“Let’s all take a moment to recognize the sales team for their impressive quarter! Revenue is up 150%. Keep it up, guys!”
Similarly, you can also use a text message to rally the troops for an upcoming challenge:
“Hey gang, the holiday rush is almost here. We’ve got your back! Any concerns, please let us know.”
7. Feedback and Surveys
Human resources departments are often tasked with taking the pulse of the workforce and making improvements to boost worker satisfaction and productivity. But soliciting feedback is never easy. Busy employees tend to ignore your emails and decline your surveys.
But with texting, you might just be able to catch employees when they’re in the mood to offer feedback.
For example, instead of emailing your employees and asking them to fill out a survey “when you get some free time,” you could text them: “Quick question: On a scale of 1-5, how responsive has management been this week?”
8. Utilization Reminders
You work hard to assemble innovative benefits packages for your employees, yet they never seem to use their benefits to their full potential. It’s not that there’s a problem with the benefits; it’s just that employees often forget benefits like wellness programs and EAPs exist. You can use text messaging to remind them:
“Tax season is coming up. Don’t forget you’re entitled to a free consultation with a financial wellness advisor. Schedule yours here.”
9. Check-Ins With Remote Employees
After a while, remote employees can start to feel a bit isolated. You can use quick text messages — either to individual employees or groups — to help forge a sense of connection among your remote workers. Even something as simple as, “Hey, how’s everyone’s day going?” can be enough to remind remote workers that they’re all part of a team.
10. Fun Stuff
Workforce texting doesn’t have to be all about work. You can help employees lighten up and relieve stress by sharing fun content via text — just like they do with their family or friends group text chains.
You might, for example, share a “song of the day” to help get employees pumped for work or send around a hilarious viral video at lunchtime. Just be sure to choose appropriate content for your team members’ sensibilities. (And again, don’t go overboard. Shared content is best enjoyed in small doses.)
Choose the Right Platform for Your Employee SMS Campaigns
Now that you have some idea of what to text about, you’ll want to get started texting your employees. To do that, you’ll need an employee texting platform. Click here to learn about Flimp Connect, a full-featured texting platform designed to drive engagement.